Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Lantana camara cultivar Red Spread.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Lantana plant, botanically known as Lantana camara, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Red Spread.
The new Lantana is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Hawthorne, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create compact Lantanas with red-colored flowers.
The new Lantana originated from a cross made by the Inventors in August, 2000 of the Lantana cultivar Radiation, not patented, as the female, or seed parent, with an unidentified Lantana selection as the male, or pollen parent. The new Lantana was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny by the Inventors in a controlled environment in Hawthorne, Fla., on Jun. 30, 2001, on the basis of its growth habit and attractive flower coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Hawthorne, Fla., since Jun. 30, 2001, has shown that the unique features of this new Lantana are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Red Spread have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment and culture such as temperature and light intensity, without however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Red Spreadxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Red Spreadxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Lantana cultivar:
1. Compact, upright and outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Freely flowering habit.
3. Inflorescences with red and orange red-colored flowers.
4. Low seed yield.
Plants of the new Lantana can be compared to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Radiation. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hawthorne, Fla., plants of the new Lantana differed from plants of the cultivar Radiation in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Lantana were more compact than and not as upright as plants of the cultivar Radiation.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Lantana were shorter and narrower than leaves of plants of the cultivar Radiation.
3. Plants of the new Lantana had red and orange red-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Radiation had orange and orange red-colored flowers.
4. Plants of the new Lantana produced fewer fruits and seeds than plants of the cultivar Radiation.
Plants of the new Lantana differ from plants of the male parent, the unidentified Lantana selection, primarily in the new Lantana""s unique combination of flower coloration, and freely-flowering habit.
Plants of the new Lantana can be compared to plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hawthorne, Fla., plants of the new Lantana differed from plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Lantana were more compact than plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset.
2. Leaves of plants of the new Lantana were longer than leaves of plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset.
3. Plants of the new Lantana had red and orange red-colored flowers whereas plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset had orange and yellow orange-colored flowers.
4. Plants of the new Lantana produced fewer fruits and seeds than plants of the cultivar Spreading Sunset.